The present invention relates to a device for gathering and lifting forage situated at the level of the ground, such as cut herbage like grass, cereals, hay or the like, lying on the field. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an agricultural implement capable of performing this function and adapted to be connected to forage harvesters, balers, or even to self-propelling or pulled self-loading machines used to collect forage.
The arrangements of this type which are currently in use, particularly in machines operative for harvesting and/or collecting cut forage or herbage, are usually constructed as picking-up devices. A picking-up device of this type customarily includes a substantially horizontal rotatable shaft which is equipped with outwardly extending metallic tines. This type of device has an important drawback that it is relatively difficult to make and, consequently, quite expensive. Another disadvantage of the device of this type is that the tines occassionally break when they encounter an obstacle, such as a stone lying on the field. The resulting broken-away tines or tine portions then constitute debris which can cause considerable damage if it is, for instance, forwarded to the chopping unit of a forage harvester where it can break or otherwise damage the cutting elements, or if it reaches the compression channel or chamber or the tying arrangement of a baler. Moreover, when this debris is permitted to remain in the collected and/or baled forage or herbage, it may cause injury to the animals to which it is eventually fed.
Because of the relatively limited operating width of the device of this type, the agricultural products have to be arranged in rows first, such as windrowed when the products are cut herbage. The need for this additional preliminary operation requires the employment of additional machinery and manpower, such as a windrowing machine and the operating personnel therefor, which takes a certain amount of additional time and consumes a certain amount of additional energy.
Finally, the forage harvesters or balers have to be provided with means, such as an auger, for moving the picked-up forage which enters the machine over the entire width of the picking-up device to a channel in which the gathered forage is compressed or chopped, depending on the type of the machine.